Scouring pad

ABSTRACT

Provided is a scouring pad which includes a mesh net including a plurality of biodegradable filaments and a plurality of biodegradable monofilaments overlapping the filaments A plurality of protrusions are formed in a region in which the filaments overlap the monofilaments.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a scouring pad, and more particularly,to a scouring pad which is environment-friendly and has higherdetergency. The present disclosure is directed to providing anenvironment-friendly scouring pad which has excellent cleaningperformance, easily makes foam, and does not cause any scratches on asurface.

BACKGROUND

Generally, scouring pads are widely used to remove scraps on dishes andthe like. When such a scouring pad is manufactured of a syntheticpolymer fiber, a problem of environmental pollution caused by processinga waste polymer during disposal may occur. Because of the problem,scouring pads manufactured using an environment-friendly polymer arebeing developed.

However, conventional scouring pads manufactured using anenvironment-friendly polymer generally either have lower detergency ordo not make foam well. Also, such products may cause scratches on thesurface of a cleaning target such as a dish.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the problems of the conventional art described above, thescouring pad according to the present disclosure includes a mesh netincluding a plurality of biodegradable filaments and a plurality ofbiodegradable monofilaments overlapping the filaments, where a pluralityof protrusions are formed in a region in which the filaments overlap themonofilaments.

The filaments may form a lattice-like backbone structure and a networkstructure in the backbone structure. Also, the monofilaments may overlapthe filaments while forming a twisted structure with the backbonestructure thereof. Here, the protrusions may be formed at crossingpoints of a lattice shape of the backbone structure.

The protrusions may have a height of about 1 to about 3 mm.

The filament may be a multifiber including a plurality of threads, andthe monofilament may be a monofiber including a single thread.

The monofilament may have a mean diameter, which is about 20 to about 50times that of the filament.

The filament and the monofilament may be formed of a material containingpolylactic acid (PLA).

The scouring pad may further include an edge sewing line. The edgesewing line may be formed with the biodegradable filament, andpreferably, a material containing PLA.

A scouring pad according to the present disclosure has excellentdetergency, easily makes foam, does not cause scratches on a surface,and is biodegradable when disposed of, which means the scouring pad isenvironment-friendly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 3 are images of a scouring pad according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 are images of a scouring pad according to an Example and scouringpads according to Comparative Examples 1 to 6.

FIG. 5 are images of comparative results (a detergency test I) fordetergency between the scouring pad according to the Example and thescouring pads according to Comparative Examples 4 to 6.

FIG. 6 are images of comparative results (a detergency test II) fordetergency between the scouring pad according to the Example and thescouring pads according to Comparative Examples 3 to 6.

FIG. 7 are images of comparative results for scratch resistance betweenthe scouring pad according to the Example and the scouring padsaccording to Comparative Examples 1 and 3 to 6.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing comparative results for flexibility betweenthe scouring pad according to the Example and a scouring pad accordingto Comparative Example 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The advantages and characteristics of the present disclosure and themethods of accomplishing the same may be clearly understood by referenceto the detailed description of embodiments and the accompanying figures.However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodimentsdisclosed below, and may be implemented in many different forms. Theseembodiments are merely provided to complete the disclosure of thepresent disclosure and fully convey the scope of the present disclosureto those of ordinary skill in the art, and the present disclosure shouldbe only defined by the accompanied claims.

The features, sizes, ratios, angles, numbers disclosed in the figures toexplain the embodiments of the present disclosure are exemplary, andthus the present disclosure is not limited to the figures. Throughoutthe specification, like numerals denote like elements. Also, to explainthe present disclosure, when detailed description on the related art isdetermined to unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the presentdisclosure, the detailed description will be omitted.

In the specification, when the terms “include,” “have,” and “comprise”are used herein, another element other than the described elements maybe further included unless the expression “only” is used. Unless clearlydescribed otherwise, the presence of a singular element designates thepresence of plural elements.

When the elements are described, the elements should be interpreted asincluding an error range even though there is no explicit descriptionthereof.

To explain positions, for example, when a part is described as beingformed “on,” “above,” “under,” or “beside” another part, one or moreparts may be disposed between the two parts when the expression “right”or “directly” is not used.

The characteristics of each embodiment of the present disclosure may bepartially or entirely connected or combined with each other, and thuseach embodiment can technically be variously interworked and driven.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedin detail with reference to the figures. The embodiments disclosed beloware provided as examples to fully convey the idea of the presentdisclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the presentdisclosure may be implemented in a different form without being limitedto the embodiments which will be described below.

FIGS. 1 to 3 are images a scouring pad according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 1 is a full image of a scouring pad accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIGS. 2 and 3 arepartially-enlarged images of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the scouring pad according to an embodimentof the present disclosure includes a mesh net 100 and an edge sewingline 200. Such a mesh net 100 includes a plurality of biodegradablefilaments 101 and a plurality of biodegradable monofilaments 102. Themonofilaments 102 and the filaments 101 overlap each other. Here, themonofilaments 102 may overlap the filaments 101 and form a twistedstructure. Also, a plurality of protrusions are formed in a region inwhich the filaments 101 overlap the monofilaments 102.

The mesh net 100 includes a backbone structure 110 and a networkstructure 120 in the backbone structure 110. The backbone structure 110of the mesh net 100 is formed by the plurality of filaments 101 and theplurality of monofilaments 102, and the network structure 120 of themesh net 100 is formed by the plurality of filaments 101.

The plurality of filaments 101 are disposed to be extended in differentpredetermined directions and cross with each other, and thereby form thelattice-like backbone structure 110. That is, the backbone structure 110may be formed in continuous polygonal shapes. In one embodiment, thebackbone structure 110 may be formed in continuous tetragonal shapes.

Also, the filaments 101 form the network structure 120 in the backbonestructure 110. That is, because the filaments 101 form the backbonestructure 110 and the network structure 120, a surface area of thescouring pad is increased, and thus detergency may be improved.

The monofilaments 102 may overlap the backbone structure 110 of thefilaments 101 and form the twisted structure. The monofilaments 102 arestiffer than the filaments 101. Therefore, the backbone structure inwhich the monofilaments 102 overlap the filaments 101 may be more stableand exhibit uniform detergency. Also, as the filaments 101 and themonofilaments 102, which have different characteristics from each other,are overlapped in the twisted structure, excellent detergency may beexhibited, foaming and maintenance of foam may be preferable, scratcheson a surface of a cleaning target may be prevented, flexibility may beensured, and long-term use is possible.

Here, the protrusions may be formed at crossing points 130 of thebackbone structure 110. That is, when the backbone structure 110 isformed in a form of continuous tetragonal shapes, the protrusions may beformed in regions corresponding to vertexes of the tetragonal shapes.

Such protrusions may be formed by projecting the monofilaments 102 andthe filaments 101 together. That is, the protrusion may be a part formedby projecting the twisted structure of the monofilaments 102 and thefilaments 101 more than other regions.

The protrusion may have a height of about 1 to about 3 mm. A surfacearea of the scouring pad according to the present disclosure may beincreased due to such a plurality of protrusions. Also, the detergencymay be improved due to the stiffness and hardness of the protrusions,and particularly, the protrusions are preferable to remove solid scraps.

The filament 101 is a multifiber including a plurality of threads. Thatis, the filament 101 may be manufactured by evenly combining severalunlimitedly long fibers (filament fibers) such as silk fibers orartificial fibers to twist.

Meanwhile, the monofilament 102 is a monofiber including a singlethread. Such a monofilament 102 has a mean diameter larger than thefilament 101. The mean diameters of the monofilament 102 and thefilament 101 may represent thicknesses, and the thickness of themonofilament 102 is larger than that of the filament 101. In oneembodiment, the mean diameter of the monofilament 102 is about 20 toabout 50 times, and particularly about 35 to about 45 times, larger thanthe mean diameter of the filament 101.

Because of such a difference in mean diameters, the filament 101 and themonofilament 102 have different characteristics. For example, themonofilament 102 is rougher and stiffer than the filament 101. That is,the filament 101 is softer and more flexible than the monofilament 102.

For this reason, the scouring pad according to the present disclosureexhibits excellent detergency and excellent foaming effect with respectto solid scraps. For example, a scouring pad only consisting of thefilaments 101 has difficulty making foam and has low detergency, butwhen using the filaments 101 and the monofilaments 102 together, maymake foam between the two types of the filaments and have an air contactsurface capable of storing the previously-made foam. Also, due to thedifference in the characteristics between the filaments 101 and themonofilaments 102, the scouring pad according to the present disclosuremay keep and maintain the foam longer.

Also, the scouring pad according to the present disclosure does not needa separate ingredient for making foam. Therefore, scratches caused on asurface of a cleaning target by a separate ingredient for making foammay be prevented.

Also, flexibility of the scouring pad according to the presentdisclosure may be ensured by forming the twisted structure using thefilaments 101 and the monofilaments 102 together. For example, since ascouring pad consisting of only the monofilaments 102 has lowerflexibility and difficulty bending, users may feel uncomfortable inpractical use. Even when the filaments 101 simply overlap themonofilaments 102 without forming the twisted structure, it is difficultto ensure flexibility. That is, the twisted structure of the filaments101 and the monofilaments 102 may allow the scouring pad to be stableand flexible.

The monofilaments 102 may be thicker and more transparent than thefilaments 101. Therefore, it is hard for scraps to stick to the scouringpad, the scouring pad is easily dried, and thus the generation andsurvival of bacteria may be prevented. Also, the transparentmonofilaments 102 are difficult to be colored. Therefore, the scouringpad can be used longer.

All of the filaments 101 and the monofilaments 102 are biodegradable.That is, since the scouring pad according to the present disclosure isformed of a material including a biodegradable polymer and naturallydegraded when disposed of, the scouring pad is environment-friendly.

The filaments 101 and the monofilaments 102 may be formed of a materialcontaining PLA. PLA is an environment-friendly resin formed of a rawmaterial extracted from corn starch. That is, PLA is a material that isstable since there are no detectable harmful materials such asenvironmental hormones and heavy metals, has almost the samecharacteristics as an artificial polymer in use, and is 100% biodegradedby microorganisms when disposed of.

Due to the use of PLA, the filaments 101 and the monofilaments 102 mayhave excellent durability and excellent biodegradability, and thus havea basic mechanical property for the scouring pad. Also, since thescouring pad is formed of a natural ingredient, it may be biodegradablein soil even when disposed of after use.

The scouring pad according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay include an edge sewing line 200 disposed along an edge of the meshnet 100. The edge sewing line 200 may be formed with a biodegradablefilament. In one embodiment, the edge sewing line 200 may be formed witha material containing PLA. That is, the edge sewing line 200 may beformed by a filament containing PLA. In this case, the edge sewing line200 may be more environment-friendly than the case of using anon-biodegradable fiber such as nylon.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in further detailwith reference to examples. However, the examples are only provided toexemplify the present disclosure and are not provided to limit thepresent disclosure. That is, the embodiments of the present disclosuremay be modified in various forms, and the scope of the presentdisclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by the examples,which will be described below.

EXAMPLES

Filaments and monofilaments were manufactured by spinning a PLA fiberextracted from corn. Afterward, the filaments and monofilaments formedof 100% PLA were woven to be a scouring pad (size: 200 mm×200 mm)including a net and an edge sewing line through a spinning process.Details for the scouring pad manufactured according to the Example areshown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Fiber Material Function and Role Denier Filament 100% PLABackbone structure 6.25 (600, 96 fil) and network structure Monofilament100% PLA Backbone structure, 280 high detergency and formation of richfoam Filament 100% PLA Edge sewing line 600

Comparative Examples 1-6

Scouring pads according to Comparative Examples 1 to 6 were manufacturedby the same method as described in the Example with different materialsfrom that used in the Example. Main ingredients for the scouring padaccording to each of the Comparative Examples are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Comp. Comp. Comp. Comp. Comp. Comp. Example 1 Example 2 Example3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 First PP fiber Biodegradable PLA PLA PLAPLA ingredient PET filament filament filament filament fiber 100% 100%100% Second PET film PLA PLA film ingredient multifilament thread EdgePP PP PLA PLA Nylon PLA sewing line

Where:

Comp. Example: Comparative Example

Comparative Example 1: Scotch-Brite™ net scouring pad (Manufacturer: 3MCompany, St. Paul, Minn.)

Comparative Example 2: Biodegradable PET scouring pad (Manufacturer: 3MCompany, St. Paul, Minn.)

Comparative Example 3: PLA Mesh Net scouring pad (Manufacturer: 3MCompany, St. Paul, Minn.)

Comparative Example 4: PLA scouring pad (Manufacturer: 3M Company, St.Paul, Minn.)

Comparative Example 5: PLA scouring pad (Manufacturer: 3M Company, St.Paul, Minn.)

Comparative Example 6: PLA scouring pad (Manufacturer: Hankook TaminaCo., Ltd., South Korea)

Respective images of the scouring pad according to the Example and thescouring pads according to Comparative Examples 1 to 6 are shown in FIG.4. In FIG. 4, the top and bottom images are overall andpartially-enlarged images, respectively.

Evaluation Tests 1. Detergency Test I (Rice Removal Test)

(1) Preparation of Rice Paste: 15 g of rice was put into 500 ml of waterand mixed with a mixer for 10 minutes, thereby preparing a rice paste.

(2) Preparation of coated panel: A Sus panel having a size of 2 inches×9inches was coated with the rice paste solution using a #60 coater rod toa uniform thickness, thereby preparing a coated panel.

(3) The coated panel was mounted on a crockmeter, and the scouring padaccording to the Example and the scouring pads according to ComparativeExamples 4 to 6 were sequentially mounted on a circular jig having aradius of 1 cm, and then moved back and forth for 10 cycles.

(4) After the back-and-forth movement, a cleaning degree was observed.

Results for such a detergency test are shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG.5, it was confirmed that the scouring pad according to the Exampleexhibited excellent detergency by removing a considerably larger amountof the rice paste than the scouring pads according to the ComparativeExamples. Particularly, it was confirmed that, by using the scouringpads according to Comparative Examples 5 and 6, almost all of the ricepaste remained.

Consequently, the scouring pads according to Comparative Examples 5 and6, which include only PLA filaments without PLA monofilaments, haddifficulty cleaning the rice paste. Also, while the scouring padaccording to Comparative Example 4 including PLA filaments and a PLAmultifilament thread was able to clean the rice paste, the scouring padaccording to the Example had much higher detergency.

2. Detergency Test II (Food Soil Removal Test)

(1) Preparation of food source: 120 g of tomato juice, 120 g of grapejuice, 60 g of cheddar cheese, 120 g of milk, 20 g of flour, 100 g ofwhite sugar, 61 g of beaten eggs and 120 g of hamburger meat were groundin a mixer, thereby preparing a food source.

(2) Preparation of coated panel: A Sus panel having a size of 2 inches×9inches was coated with the food source solution using a #60 coater rodto a uniform thickness, thereby preparing a coated panel.

(3) Preparation of food soil panel: The coated panel was mounted on anoven and baked at 170° C. Coating and baking were repeatedly performedthree times, and thus a food soil panel was prepared.

(4) The food soil panel was fixed to a push-pull device, and thescouring pad according to the Example and the scouring pads according toComparative Examples 3 to 6 moved back and forth for 10 cycles.

(5) After the back-and-forth movement, a cleaning degree was observed.

Results for such a detergency test are shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG.6, it was confirmed that the scouring pads according to ComparativeExamples 3 to 6 removed very little food soil. Meanwhile, it wasconfirmed that the scouring pad according to the Example removed almostall of the food soil compared to the scouring pads according toComparative Examples. That is, it was confirmed that the scouring padaccording to the Example exhibited considerably excellent detergencywith respect to solid scraps, which were even difficult to be removed bya conventional scouring pad.

Consequently, compared to the scouring pads according to the ComparativeExamples, which include only PLA filaments without PLA monofilaments orinclude PLA filaments and a PLA multifilament thread, the scouring padaccording to the Example had much higher detergency.

3. Test for Foaming Performance

(1) Preparation of detergent: A detergent solution consisting of 5 ml ofNa-DBS and 50 ml of water was poured into a beaker and slowly stirredwithout making foam. (RPM 1800, 100 cycles)

(2) Foaming Test: The scouring pad according to the Example and thescouring pads according to Comparative Example 1 and ComparativeExamples 3 to 6 were folded in 2 to 3 layers and fixed to the bottom ofa circular jig having a radius of 5 cm, and 2 g of a plastic load movedupward and downward by reciprocating pumping at 1800 rpm for 100 cycles.

(3) The height of foam was calculated by measuring the uppermost heightand lowermost height of the foam made by the pumping movement.

(Foam height=the uppermost height of foam−the lowermost height of foam)

Results obtained by calculating the foam height are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Comp. Comp. Comp. Comp. Comp. Example Example Example ExampleExample Example 1 3 5 4 6 Foam 4 cm 4 cm 3 cm 1 cm 1 cm 1 cm height

As can be seen by the test results, the scouring pad according to theExample exhibited an excellent foaming performance compared to thescouring pads according to Comparative Examples 3 to 6, and exhibitedthe same level of the foaming performance as the scouring pad accordingto Comparative Example 1.

Consequently, compared to the scouring pad according to ComparativeExample 1 which is not environment-friendly but exhibited excellentfoaming performance, the scouring pad according to the Example is notdegraded in foaming performance. Also, compared to the scouring padsaccording to the Comparative Examples, which include only PLA filamentswithout PLA monofilaments or PLA filaments and a PLA multifilamentthread and thus are environment-friendly, the scouring pad according tothe Example had much better foaming performance.

4. Scratch Resistance Test

(1) Preparation of acryl plate: A release paper of an unused acryl platewas removed, and it was washed with acetone once and with heptane threetimes, thereby preparing an acryl plate.

(2) Non-Scratch Test: The acryl plate was fixed on a crockmeter, and thescouring pad according to the Example and the scouring pads according toComparative Example 1 and Comparative Examples 3 to 6 were mounted on acircular jig having a radius of 1 cm and then moved back and forth for30 cycles.

Results for such a scratch resistance test are shown in FIG. 7. As shownin FIG. 7, it was confirmed that the scouring pads according toComparative Examples 1 and 5 made scratches on a cleaning target. Thatis, while the scouring pad according to Comparative Example 5 includedPLA filaments as a first ingredient, an edge sewing line ingredient wasnylon and thus the scouring pad was not biodegradable, and since thescouring pad included a PLA film as a second ingredient, it causedscratches. Meanwhile, the scouring pad according to the Example barelycaused surface scratches compared to the scouring pads according toComparative Examples.

5. Flexibility Measuring Test

(1) Preparation of Comparative Example 7: A scouring pad having asimply-combined structure, instead of a twisted structure formed withPLA filaments and PLA monofilaments, was prepared.

(2) Forces necessary to bend the scouring pad according to the Exampleand the scouring pad according to Comparative Example 7 in a machinedirection (MD) and a cross direction (CD) were measured using ahandle-O-meter.

Results for such a flexibility measuring test are show in FIG. 8. Asshown in FIG. 8, it was confirmed that the force necessary to bend thescouring pad according to Comparative Example 7 was much larger than theforce necessary to bend the scouring pad according to the Example.Accordingly, it was confirmed that the flexibility when the PLAfilaments and the PLA monofilaments had a simply-combined structure wasmuch lower than the flexibility of the twisted structure.

Consequently, since the scouring pad according to the Example had thetwisted structure of the PLA filaments and the PLA monofilaments, theflexibility may be ensured.

6. Biodegradability Test

Biodegradability of the scouring pad according to the Example as a testmaterial was detected using cellulose as a standard material accordingto KS M ISO 14855-1:2010.

Results for the biodegradability test are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Average biodegradability (%) calculated by carbon Duration ofdioxide emission rate test (day) Test material 72.42 45 Standardmaterial (Cellulose) 75.73 45 Biodegradability (%) of 95.65 standardmaterial vs. test material

As shown by the test results, it was confirmed that the scouring padaccording to the Example had a biodegradability of 95%. Generally, whena material has biodegradability higher than 60% over 45 days, it can becertified as a biodegradable material. Accordingly, the scouring padaccording to the Example has a biodegradability of 95% or more, whichmeans that the scouring pad is very environment-friendly.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scouring pad, comprising: a mesh net includinga plurality of biodegradable filaments; and a plurality of biodegradablemonofilaments overlapping the filaments, wherein a plurality ofprotrusions are formed in a region in which the filaments overlap themonofilaments.
 2. The scouring pad of claim 1, wherein the filamentsform a lattice-like backbone structure and a network structure in thebackbone structure.
 3. The scouring pad of claim 2, wherein themonofilaments form a twisted structure with the lattice-like backbonestructure of the filaments.
 4. The scouring pad of claim 3, wherein theprotrusions are formed at crossing points in a lattice shape of thebackbone structure.
 5. The scouring pad of claim 1, wherein theprotrusions are formed by the filaments and the monofilaments.
 6. Thescouring pad of claim 1, wherein the protrusions have a height of about1 to about 3 mm.
 7. The scouring pad of claim 1, wherein the filament isa multifiber including a plurality of threads, and the monofilament is amonofiber including a single thread.
 8. The scouring pad of claim 1,wherein the monofilament has a mean diameter of about 20 to about 50times that of the filament.
 9. The scouring pad of claim 1, wherein thefilament and the monofilament are formed of a material containingpolylactic acid.
 10. The scouring pad of claim 1, further comprising anedge sewing line disposed along an edge of the mesh net.
 11. Thescouring pad of claim 10, wherein the edge sewing line is formed withthe biodegradable filament.
 12. The scouring pad of claim 10, whereinthe edge sewing line is formed with a material containing polylacticacid.